Metsä Spring from Finland has gone on to expand its Muoto Uncoated Fibre Series with two types of punnets for the fresh food product segment.
The new solutions respond to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation – PPWR of the EU, helping with the switch from single-use plastics to fiber-based packaging when it comes to fresh products.
The punnets come in a couple of different sizes in order to match specific product and customer requirements, and they are going to be ready for market testing beginning January 2026.
According to product manager at Muoto, Tarja Heikkilä, they welcome packers to join their pre-commercial sales phase, test, and also co-develop the right solution for their requirements. Their Muoto punnets are durable, fully recyclable, plastic-free, and also meet the stringent requirements of the upcoming PPWR regulation.
Tarja added that as the new legislation will most probably come into effect by the end of this decade, this is indeed the optimum time to begin testing other solutions so as to pack fresh products.
The CEO at Metsä Spring, Niklas von Weymarn, went on to add that they are happy to launch yet another scalable Muoto packaging solution. Their first pilots, along with industrial partners and customers, have indeed been pretty encouraging, and since last summer, they have already seen other Muoto products that are available for consumers on the shelves of certain big retail shops.
He added that the Punnet series is indeed a great match for the need of the market to find alternatives to the present solutions, which are not going to match with the upcoming EU regulation, which is going to take effect in Europe very soon.
The overall packaging unit volume when it comes to fresh products is billions of units per year, confirms a market study that was held in Europe by Muoto. It also goes on to demonstrate that strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries need billions of packaging units per year.
Metsä Spring opines that by replacing the present plastic packaging with Muoto punnets, which are fiber-based, the industry can go ahead and drastically decrease the volume of single-use plastics that is being used.
Notably, Muoto packaging is made out of wood pulp, hence making it completely recyclable as well as biodegradable, confirms the company.
The technology in order to create Muoto products has in it the conversion of wet wood pulp into three-dimensional packages sans any intermediate steps. Metsä Spring remarks that this process helps with low-carbon footprint production along with shipping.
The fact is that the fiber-based packaging is regarded to be easy to mold into numerous shapes, is lightweight, and is also strong. Muoto products come with numerous applications, right from takeaway foodservice to the gamut of industrial packing.
Earlier in 2025, Metsä Board, through an announcement, confirmed the installation phase of a board machine modernization located at its Simpele mill in Finland.